Basketball (LFB): “D” Day for Tarbes GB before the FFBB Appeals Chamber

It is this Tuesday, June 25 that Tarbes Gespe Bigorre (TGB) defends its future in the Women’s Basketball League before the FFBB Appeals Chamber after being demoted last Friday to the regional League by the Control Commission of Management for not having met the financial requirements imposed.

The Tarbes leaders had a few days to refine their files in order to prove the good health of the club.

And in their ranks, confidence was rather in order, as they told us on Saturday: “the club is in balance, has reached its forecast revenue budget established at €1.5 million and has even exceeded by 200 K€ Ticketing revenues obtained thanks to the good results of our professional team also contributed to this success. We must salute the excellent work done by our managers, thank our partners for their commitment and loyalty and express. our gratitude to the general public. A hearing is planned for June 25, during which the club will present all the elements attesting to its financial solidity and its ability to reconstitute the reserve fund within the allotted time frame.

For the TGB, this is the second consecutive demotion since last year at this time, €200,000 was still missing for the TGB to finish the year on target. Part of it was filled but by ending up in the red with a deficit of around 120,000 euros, the leaders of the Quai de l’Adour club were exposed to sanction from the financial policeman.

This sanction is all the more surprising as the Tarbes club is coming out of an exceptional sporting season with a place in the play-off and two semi-finals contested in the Coupe de France and in the championship with, most often, a quay of the Adour sold out.

Ticketing and 80,000 euros in subsidies

A satisfaction noted by the Tarbes management: “For the first time in several years (in September 2023, the club posted a deficit of more than 200,000 euros), the club is in balance, has reached its forecast revenue budget established at 1.5 M€ and even exceeded it by 200 K€ The ticketing revenue obtained thanks to the good results of our professional team also contributed to this success.

With the “support of partners” since the city of Tarbes voted, at the beginning of June, an exceptional subsidy of 50,000 euros and the Department did the same to the tune of 30,000 euros, all the guarantees seem to be in place so that the future of the TGB is in LFB next season.

The athlete in suspense?

Gray areas also remain at the sports level since the TGB has, for the moment, not formalized any arrival of players even though the staff has lost three of its international tricolors (Carla Leite, Dominique Malonga and Marie-Paule Foppossi ) as well as several other players (Mailis Pokk, Lou Bobst, Zarah Velleyen).

As for the players who remain at the club, nothing official but the TGB should be able to count on its captain Camille Droguet, Jess Mine Zodia, Lena Monasse, both called up to the French U20 team to prepare for the European championships, as well as Serena Kessler and the Swiss Nancy Fora.

There is no doubt that the Tarbes staff is working to put together a competitive team and that after the decision of the FFBB Appeals Chamber which will probably be handed down tomorrow, the player announcements should put an end to the suspense.